Welcome to The Waxing Blog: Smooth Talk from Waxing the City. If you want to know more about waxing and skin care for men and women, you're in the right place. Alex Jimenez and Summer Hartshorn — two of Waxing the City's premier CEROLOGIST™ Technicians — answer your questions about waxing. There's no such thing as a dumb question. At Waxing the City, we strive to make you as comfortable online as we do at any of our four locations.

Q: I was wondering if I should avoid putting on lotion before waxing? Sadly, I get waxed infrequently since I travel for work. I heard that after a shower, not to put on lotion because it will make the hair easier to pull out. Help!

- Lotion Man

Dear Lotion Man,

At Waxing the City, we advise our clients to avoid putting anything on their skin before getting waxed. Lotions and/or oils can coat the hair and make it difficult for the wax to adhere, making it difficult to wax. I would, however, recommend exfoliating before your wax. You can do this easily in the shower a couple days before you are going to get waxed. This will help loosen the hair from the dead skin around the hair and make it easier to remove. Once you get waxed continue to exfoliate several times a week to avoid getting ingrown hairs. The easiest way to exfoliate is to use an exfoliating glove with body wash.

I hope this helps! Have any other questions? Feel free to email comment below or send us an email! Happy Waxing!

-Summer

Have a question for Summer and Alex about waxing? Ask your question here.

Waxing the City is extremely excited to announce our most recent franchising efforts. As many of you already know, what makes WTC so special is our culture, extensive training programs, and focus on our employees through our employer of choice strategies. We methodically set out more than 2 years ago exploring potential franchise partners that have the same values and philosophies that could help take our brand to another level....well, after kissing a few frogs we have found our prince!

Last week, we finalized our partnership with Anytime Fitness, Inc. (AFI), one of the largest fitness franchises in the world, with corporate head quarters located in St. Paul, Minn. They currently have more than 2,000 units worldwide and have extensive experience in the franchising world. Earlier this year, they were voted the #1 Employer to Work for in the State of Minnesota! We truly feel that AFI and WTC share very similar philosophies, and we look forward to growing together. Our vision includes the formation of a new company called Waxing the City Worldwide and we will immediately start building the infrastructure to grow WTC into an international brand.

As you may recall from our November newsletter, our first new salon development is opening in the Twin Cities this December in the suburb of Woodbury, St. Paul. We are working diligently to get everything set up and ready to open within the next couple of weeks.

The Star Tribune featured a story on our collaboration with AFI co-founders, Chuck Runyon and Dave Mortensen earlier this month. You can watch their hilarious waxing video and read the interview here: Fitness guys make a smooth move.

We are thrilled to be making moves with our expansion and look forward to growing the WTC family! As we move forward in this endeavor, we will continue to share details as our partnership evolves. Here is a link to the national press release.

We're excited to announce our first salon in the Twin Cities! Our newest salon will be open in December and located in the suburb of Woodbury in east St. Paul. The new address for this salon is 10035 Woodbury Drive, Suite A&B, Woodbury, MN 55129.

With that being said, we can't wait to get our salon up and ready for appointments! Do you have any friends or family in the Twin Cities eager to get rid of body hair? Send us their emails and we will make sure to send them a coupon introducing them to WTC!

We're also looking to hire some fabulous estheticians or cosmetologists in the Twin Cities. If you know someone looking for a fun and rewarding place to work, please send them to our employment tab on our website.